Once the relays on a board go, I replace the board. Unless you have a full test set for fixing boards, I suggest you do the same. You seem to have the skills to do that so it will save you some money. Scott

The booster pump is not a neccessity...it's just easier having one. lol The way some 1 pump spa systems are set up, the user will be switching a valve (by hand or remote), from heating spa returns over to spa jets when they want the jets on. If your spa is still heating when you want to use your jets, and that jet line is pulling in ambient cold air, you are going to significantly starve the heated water as it mixes with the air pulling in from the venturi of the spa jet line. While jets with outside air never help the heated water, that pump could still be heating normally with the jets on a seperate pump if you had 2 pumps. In my opinion, over the long haul, you save money in heating and save a little headache by not cooling your spa as much when your jets are on. Also, if you are having a valve switch from returns to jets, it can be a 10-20 second change if its a valve actuator...again, not a pain to wait, but with a booster pump waiting in the ready position, they are on the second you touch that button. Some people may chime in and say their's works fine as a one pump setup, and to each their own I guess...but in my opinion it is a legitimate luxury to have seperate pumps. Also, while talking about heating/cooling issues, PLUMB A HIGH RETURN INTO THE SPA AND A LOW RETRN INTO THE SPA. You will experience a significant gain in heat times when you inject hot water high and low, as you also eliminate stagnant cold water in the foot well. Yes you can adjust the flow of the Waterway jets. I say run a seperate line to the foot jet only because, for some strange hydraulic reason and water weight on top of the foot jet, a foot jet in the spa jet loop not get enough pressure. Running a seperate line to it may be a small expense, but the odds are eliminated that you wont have enough pressure. A blower is, again, a luxury. Ambient air being pulled in from an openline does not compare to force driven air from a blower...your call. It can be added if you're not happy with the amount of air. Have fun with it! Tyler

There are so many benefits to owning your own spa. Whether you have a hard day at work or play and need to rejuvenate sore muscles and joints. Want to spend some relaxing time with the family. Or beat the chill of a cold day by soaking in your own spa. Hot tubs help relieve everyday stress that creates muscle tension causing headaches, sleeplessness, and soreness. Families get together in hot tubs where they interact with each other. Hot tubs will increase the value of your home when selling. Hot tubs are desirable amenities to many home buyers. To maintain a hot tub is far less work than that of a swimming pool. For more information on home spas please feel free to ask at hottub.indulgemedia.ca They are more then willing to answer any questions you may have.

I am replacing a Royal Spa hot tub that I acquired with a home just I sold. My experience over 7 years was good and I'm thinking about another Royal Spa for my new home. My question... should I be looking at other brands? Royal Spas minimalistic design seems very good, but they cost as much or more than other brands with more features. I don't have a problem with that if I believe I'm getting a superior product but I thought I would ask the opinions of others who may have any personal experience or technical experience regarding hot tub designs. I appreciate your feedback. Royal Spa's claims (which seem to make sense to me) are below. Thanks. Energy Efficient Our hybrid hot tubs are extremely energy efficient. Pumps and heaters are the primary source of energy consumption on a spa. Innovative design allows us to use less electricity resulting in as much as a 90% increase in energy efficiency. Many of our competitor's claim their spa is efficient. Their efficiency is achieved by NOT running the pump. In other words, they turn off the spa. The problem with that is obvious: stagnant water. Fully Customizable One size does not fit all. For the best possible experience your hot tub should be customized to fit your needs. Our Hybrid hot tubs are fully customizable. Choose the features you want to create the perfect experience for you. Jet style and placement, water features, lighting, cabinet colors and many more options. We build the hot tub with what you want. Jets are an important factor in your spa experience. There are many different styles of jets to pick from. Since you may not know what you’ll like best we can build your spa with the most popular jets. Then, for up to 3 months from the time of purchase, you can swap your jets (for no additional cost) to get your hot tub just the way you like it. Try getting that at the other place. Cleaner Water Typical hot tubs suck. Literally. Suction side filtration systems are common in the industry. These systems are designed to suck water through the filter. This is the cheap way to make a hot tub, not the best way. We PUSH the water through the filter. We use a unique in-wall skimmer basket that intercepts large debris such as hair, lint and insects, preventing the filter cartridge from becoming clogged. Royal Spa owners may go nearly 6 months without needing to clean a filter. Stagnant water requires more maintenance and more chemicals (i.e. higher costs and more time). Our spas continuously circulate the water. Additionally, the system is infusing ozone in to the water, helping it to purify the way nature does. Superior filtration, ozone purification and continuous circulation means your water is cleaner and healthier. Very Quiet Most hot tubs are designed to use a large, LOUD, two speed pump. Our Hybrid spas use a small, quiet, single speed pump. Stand next to one of our hot tubs and you won’t hear anything but the moving water. Many people put their hot tub on a wooden deck. Two speed pumps running at low speed vibrate at the natural frequency of the wood. The deck will amplify this sound. Kind of makes it hard to relax. Our pump is specifically designed not to do this. Easy to Maintain Who wants to spend hours cleaning and maintaining their spa? Our spas require very little maintenance. The superior filtration and purification system means water stays cleaner longer. No need to constantly add chemicals are replace the water in the tub. Less time spent cleaning or replacing filters. See why cleaner water is better? The acrylic shell on your Royal Spa hot tub is made with Bio-Lok™. This provides a healthy, bacteria-free surface that will shine and last for a lifetime. It will only need an occasional wipe-down. Built to Last Made in the USA and built to last. We build our spas to outlast their owners. After more than 30 years of building hot tubs we know how to do it right. The shell structure comes with a standard 40 year warranty. 3 years on parts and 1 year on labor. Nothing is ever pro-rated. The frame is extremely strong and moisture resistant. It is built with pressure treated lumber that has been additionally coated with a moisture resistant barrier. We build it better by starting from the bottom. The fiberglass bottom is ultra-strong compared to the usual piece of plastic or plywood that's attached to the bottom of most spas. This innovative pleated bottom raises the frame off the ground and allows air movement under the spa. This helps avoid the rotting usually seen with flat bottom designs. The same 40 year shell warranty applies to the bottom as well. Our acrylic shell is virtually indestructible. An initial coat of vinyl-ester resin base fiberglass followed by several layers of fiberglass woven roving and hand-rolled fiberglass results in unrivaled strength and durability for the acrylic shell. Many manufacturers add fillers as a way to cut costs, looks solid but isn’t as strong. The addition of a top rail adds rigidity to the structure, acting as a bumper to protect the shell and making it simpler to move. You will not find a better built spa. Cost Less To Own Because our spas last so long we can confidently say they will cost you less to own than our competitor’s. Less money spent on electricity. Less spent on chemicals and filters. Less spent on repairs. Cheaper To Run All mechanical, filtration and heating functions have been engineered to consume the lowest amount of electricity found in our industry. Our competitor's system may draw as much as $767 worth of electricity over the course of a year, ours may cost $59. How's that for a smaller carbon footprint, not to mention a lower electric bill. You’ll not find another spa that uses less electricity while keeping the water clean and maintaining the desired temperature. Cheaper To Maintain Maintenance costs are about chemicals and filters. Our filtration and purification systems are designed to keep the water clean. Depending on your situation, very little chemicals will be needed. And, because of our efficient pressurized filtration system, we can use an inexpensive, smaller filter. Royal Spa customers may replace their $33 filter every two years. Compare that to the other guys. Cheaper To Repair Computer control systems are cheap to make, but costly to repair. We don’t use them on our Hybrid spa models. Putting a computer on a hot tub is unnecessary. The failure rate is high and it only guarantees expensive repairs down the road; a benefit for the company selling the computer, not you. Simple controls and a common sense design (i.e. don’t use parts that are hard to find or hard to get to) means our spas are easy to repair. Easy = cheaper. Our competitors make money by selling filters and chemicals, and repair services. They do not build a spa that is cheap and easy to own. They build a spa that is cheap and easy to make.